Besides myself, there are many other residents who are also extremely appalled by the condition the Ekurhuleni metro has allowed the park adjacent to Leon Ferreira Fire Station to deteriorate into.
There appears to be no management/inspection of public parks otherwise the condition of this park would’ve been addressed. This is the responsibility of the metro.
During the early part of 2015 the fencing around the park was installed and then the park was semi cared for. After the fencing was erected and the park was cleaned it was enjoyed by many people.
During this time more people than usual visited the park to feed the ducks, relax around the dam and take their dogs for walks.
At this stage, I was very happy with the progress and the support from the City of Ekurhuleni, but this is definitely no longer the case.
There is a huge demand for a park of this nature where people can actually get out into the open, take their children to see and feed the ducks, walk their dogs or just sit and relax.
At the moment the condition of the park is in no way encouraging visitors and in the end, the ducks are not being fed and are starving – disgusting to say the least.
The condition of the park now is an absolute disgrace. The grass hasn’t been cut for at least six months and is waist-high, both gates are off and laying on the ground.
The gates are practically covered by the long grass. A number of people walk through the park but currently it is unsafe and because of the long grass it is being used as a public toilet.
I personally witnessed a man crouching in the long grass with some toilet paper in his hand. All this is encouraging and allowing distasteful behaviour in the middle of a residential area, whereas it could be a place for pleasure.
When I visited the Metro Parks office to address this problem it was payday and most of the staff had left early and there were only one or two staff members left.
When I visited the Metro Park offices the grass in their park was cut and looked very neat. It is sad that the grass at the Leon Ferreira Fire Station is also cut regularly but a blind eye is turned to the park right next door.
* Editor’s note: The Advertiser visited the park in question last week and found the writer’s complaints and concerns are justified. Our journalist took a walk through the park and encountered most of the problems mentioned in the letter, and took photographs as proof of this.
The Advertiser requested comment from the Ekurhuleni metro but none was received at the time of going to print.
